House items that you can use to workout with! I know the gyms are temporarily closed right now and you’re probably tired of doing bodyweight workouts, BUT did you know that you probably have some common household items that can boost your gains and increase your desire to work out?! Some items you can just pick it up and lift it and some items you will have DIY it to make it into something you can use. When you have an item that can be filled with something (jugs, bags, book bag, cases, etc.) you can have many things to fill it with to increase the weight like: Water- best for sealed containers due to the sloshing. Although, if you fill buckets with water and lift them in the living room, there is an incentive for slow, controlled repetitions!

Rocks- denser than water so will allow for added weight. Small, driveway pebbles will work the best. Less empty space in your containers, more weight.

Sand- also denser than water. Many entry-level plastic weights are filled with this.

Trinkets- matchbox cars, marbles, be creative with it

Cans of food- canned groceries are heavy too. Use cans of corned beef or green beans to get beefy!

Books- Dictionaries, Bible’s, hymnals. Any good-sized book will work. Stacks of newspapers or magazines are also very heavy.

5-gallon jugs Those big 5-gallon water bottles for water coolers! Many of them have handles too; they can weigh approximately 40lbs when filled so that can definitely be a substantial amount of weight. The size of it makes it perfect for some compound exercises like deadlifts (either in front of the body or holding two jugs; one in each hand), some bent over rows and even squats. You can even attach a bar down the middle of the jugs with some heavy-duty tape to make it easier to carry and even to do some bench press.

Gallon jugs If the 5-gallon jugs are too heavy or hard to come by then using a basic one-gallon (milk or water jug) will work. When they are filled, they can reach up 8lbs each. These can also be filled with sand, rocks, dirt, or whatever else you can find to fill it (just know if you fill it with something dense like sand and rocks it will make it heavier). Use them for shoulder press, bicep curls, walking lunges.

Buckets For buckets, the bigger, the heavier it can be. You can use a pole for a handle and secure a bucket to each end. Alternatively, you can lift the buckets by the handle for independent movement on each side.

Grocery bags The strappy reusable ones made of cloth. These are very strong and can be loaded with books or cans etc. Very versatile and can be used to perform a ton of exercises from curls and dumbbell presses to straight legged deadlifts and Clean and Presses.

Backpack This is a good option if you want to walk or run with added resistance, or, if you want to do squats etc. Simply fill the backpack with books, or water bottles, or weights (!) and go. It is strapped to your torso.

Suitcases Suitcases are great because they have handles! They are also designed to carry quite a bit of weight. Fill with books, clothes, basketballs, cans of beans, 100lb dumbbells etc.

Chains Chains are very heavy, and the weight adds up fast. One great idea with chains is to hook the end of two chains to the end of a bar with the chains hanging partially on the floor. When you lift it up, more of the chain comes off the floor – making it progressively heavier as you move into the stronger range of the movements (i.e. the end of the motion)! Things like bent over row, upright row, bench press, seated shoulder press, and bicep curls are best for this!

Rope If you have some long and very thick rope, lying around this can be used as one of my favorite forms of cardio and upper body strengthening. Battle Ropes!

Bags of Dog food/bird seed/ kitty litter Dog and cat food bags can easily weight around 50lbs. You can carry these up and down stairs or lift them overhead for shoulder presses. Do squats and calf raises! Sit down; rest a back on your feet and burn out with leg extensions.

Mulch/Soil Outdoor products are also sold in those large 50lb bags, you can put them on your shoulders for squats, and you can hold one of them out in front of you or hug it close to your body for front squats.

Logs/Wood Grab a big log and you can do many of the same exercises that you can do with a barbell. The beauty of using logs is the great variance in weight. If you need more weight, grab a heavier log! If you have stacks of unused planks of wood, you can strap them into bundles. Make handles of rope or cloth and tape.

Tires

Tires are heavy and they can definitely take a beating. You can tie a rope to it and drag it around (pull it towards you or drag it around for 20 yards). You can sling it over a strong tree branch or swing set and have boom! A makeshift lat pulldown machine and even triceps pushdown machine. You can do tire flips or slam a big sledgehammer on it for a big cardio burn!

Cinder Blocks

These can weight around 30lbs and they have an advantage because they have handles! This allows you to slide a bar or wooden handle right through them you make handles out of rope or tape. You can use these for any exercise you would do with dumbbells!

Your kids or Significant other!

May as well get some benefit from having them, right?! Put them on your shoulders and squat away! Or climb a hill. Have them lay on your back while you do push-ups. Push-presses are another example. It’s fun and you’ll make some great gains!

Furniture The large number of exercises that can be performed using a chair, two chairs, or a sofa. There are a ton of options. You can pick up one end of the sofa. Then do Deadlifts, or overhead presses, or curls. Many mattresses have handles on the side. Press them overhead. Do upright rows, or power cleans! Chairs can be used for dips, elevated pushups. You can use beds, dressers, sofas, to anchor your feet for performing sit-ups. Or lay down flat on your back and pull yourself up with your hands at the edge of the table for some bodyweight inverted rows. If these are too easy throw some people on it and it’ll add resistance.

Carpet

Rolled up carpet is almost perfect for any type of workout! Think of it as some type of thicker barbell. Squats, presses, deadlifts, you name it!

Lawnmowers

Using a push mower is a good workout. Especially pushing it up a hill. Also, a riding mower in neutral is also a fairly heavy thing to push. I should need to say be careful. And be sure it’s not running. If you want to lift it you can squat in front of the handle and with both hands lift the lawnmower’s back wheels off the ground in repetition.

Car Throw it in neutral and push your car down your driveway. Be careful with the hills, you don’t want to run yourself over or lose control of it and have it hit someone or something. This is a great way to build raw, explosive strength. If you’re a strongman or a cyborg, feel free to lift the front end!

Auto parts There are lots of heavy parts in a car. If you like to tinker on your vehicles, you may have some parts laying around. A couple of brake rotors welded to a metal bar would make an awesome homemade barbell! Wheelbarrow Load this up with dirt, sand, rocks, books, shoes, you name it! This is such a great workout that will make you traps, shoulders, upper arms, forearms, core, back and legs explode with gains! Just wheel it around for a good 20-30 mins and you’ll feel like you can lift the world!

Sandbags

These are very handy for working out. The neck, where the bag is tied is great for a handle, and they weigh at least 20lbs each. You can do kettlebell swings, lateral raises, curls.

Outdoor playground equipment

If your kids have a playground area in your yard or neighborhood, there is a potential gym there. Especially monkey bars or a swing set. Pullups, dips, pistol squats, sissy squats, tons of an exercises. All these and more can be performed depending on the actual equipment present.